


Falling In

by storm_dog_pirate



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, and the dog loves Nik, basically just them being cute and fluffy, in which zoya has a dog, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25527988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storm_dog_pirate/pseuds/storm_dog_pirate
Summary: In which there is a dog that runs up to a certain firefighter that Zoya happens to have encounters with during the past month.
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Comments: 3
Kudos: 45





	Falling In

Zoya jogged along the walkway of the city park, giving glances back to her companion trailing behind her. The shiny black material of his collar gleamed under the early morning sunlight and contrasted with his golden fur coat.

She let a small smile appear on her lips. “Doing great?” she asked the dog. She increased the pace for a little, and the canine did the same to catch up. Sturmhond let out a bark, making Zoya grin. “Alright, let’s take a short breather.”

They stopped by one of the benches by the side of the walkway. Zoya opened the water bottle in her hand and poured some of it in her cupped hand before putting it down the dog’s level. Sturmhond lowered his head and began to drink. 

She hadn’t really planned to adopt a Golden Retriever from the shelter as she considered the smaller ones, probably a Pug or a Dachshund. But one look from the golden dog sitting in the corner of the first kennel she passed, Zoya loved him already.

Now, a few months after that visit from the shelter, Zoya knew that her decision of adopting the dog was one of the best things she did.

There was a rush of movement, and then the dog’s tail suddenly stopped wagging. One second, the dog was still in front of her, and then the next, Sturmhond was bolting towards the direction they came from. 

Zoya quickly got up and went after the dog. “ _Sturmhond!_ ” she called out, forcing herself to run faster.

The dog was careening towards a man who had just stopped running. With the speed that Sturmhond was going, Zoya was sure that the dog would run over him.

“ _Look out!_ ” 

The man straightened. He had just turned to face them fully and then Sturmhond was leaping over him. Panic seized her brain as her mind began thinking of worst case scenarios of her dog biting people. But it was forgotten as soon as she heard a laugh from the man while the dog continued to squirm.

Zoya let out a breath of relief. At least he wasn’t hurt. Sturmhond just randomly decided to chase after a person—which didn’t sound quite right to her.

“Sturmhond,” she called again as she stopped in front of the pair. The dog’s tail wagged enthusiastically as it continued to bombard the man with kisses. “Sir, are you—”

The man finally turned to his side, and the words died on Zoya’s lips. His hair was a bit lighter than the dog’s fur, but his eyes were of the same color and just as bright and warm of the early morning sun. But aside all of those thoughts that came through her, she found herself narrowing her eyes at him.

This man was the infuriating firefighter that had been the one to get her out of a stuck elevator from various places. Thrice. Within just a month. The first time was a bit awkward as Nikolai Lantsov—that was his name, Zoya remembered when he introduced himself in the intercom—tried to tell her random jokes to distract her as he guided them up the elevator wire. The second involved a bit of teasing as he and another firefighter pushed open the doors when it got stuck halfway between the floors. The third time was just him being totally goofy and telling her that maybe they were fated to meet.

By this time, Zoya was probably starting to believe it.

Nikolai smiled his signature dashing grin that reached his eyes. “Hi,” he said. “Good to see you again, Nazyalensky.”

Zoya huffed a laugh. “I’m surprised it’s not in an elevator.” This earned a chuckle from the blond, and she wasn’t sure why her heart did a weird flip at the sound.

“Quite an energetic companion you have,” he said, letting out a chuckle when Sturmhond gave his cheek a nuzzle. “Is he yours?”

“Yeah, I adopted him a few months ago,” she replied. She held out her arms, calling out to the dog, but Sturmhond hid its face to Nikolai’s shoulder with a soft whine. She gave a surprised laugh. “He likes you.”

Nikolai smiled and ruffled the fur on the dog’s neck. “I noticed.” He paused, his eyebrows furrowing. “What did you say his name was again?”

“Sturmhond.”

There was a short silence and Zoya could basically see the wheels of his mind working. Then a moment later, his eyes widened as he asked, “Did you get him from the shelter downtown?”

Zoya narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah, why?”

“Oh my dear,” Nikolai said, a bit dramatically as he leaned back to look at the dog. Sturmhond immediately nuzzled its nose to his cheek. His eyes softened as he held the dog closer to him, cooing, “Hey, buddy, look at you. It’s so good to see you.”

She wouldn’t lie about the sight of them being adorable, but the confusion still clouded her mind. “I’m sorry, had you seen him before?”

It took a few more moments before Nikolai finally turned to her, his smile just as bright as his eyes. “I’ll never forget this one,” he said. “We’ve rescued him from an abandoned train in the outskirts. A storm was hitting the city by that time.” He shook his head as he scratched the spot under the dog’s chin, and Sturmhond gave a low whine. “He didn’t let go of me even as we gave him to the shelter. Had to hug him for a while. They let me name him too.”

Zoya couldn’t help a smile to appear on her lips. Perhaps he was really the kind of person who had his heart in rescuing. It sure _did_ add to his charm. 

Then a thought came to her mind, and she laughed as she asked, “Is that why you named him ‘storm dog’? Because there was a storm the time you rescued him?”

Nikolai’s ears turned all shades of red, and Zoya it only made her laugh more. “Hey, it sounds cool, okay?” he defended, a bit childishly. Then he turned to the dog. “Don’t you think so, buddy?” 

Sturmhond let out a yip, squirming in the blond’s arms. 

“See? Even he agrees.” He paused, before turning to Zoya. “Small world, eh?”

Zoya only rolled her eyes, the smile still not leaving her lips. “Why am I feeling that he wouldn’t want to leave your arms for quite a while?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise. Your dog loves me.”

“Thinking too highly of yourself, aren’t we?”

Nikolai shrugged. “I only say facts, Nazyalensky,” he said. Then he hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Well, it seems like Sturmhond wouldn’t want to let go of me yet. Want to go and have breakfast? I know a place where they allow dogs.”

Zoya stopped at that, her heart doing another weird flip. She raised a brow. “Why, Lantsov, are you asking me out?” 

“I said that because I was hungry,” Nikolai said, and then he laughed, his ears turning red again. _He’s cute._ “Alright, you got me. It _might_ be that reason too. So, breakfast?”

She pretended to consider for a moment, but Zoya already knew she would agree in the first place. Perhaps he’s fun and comfortable to be with. “Alright, our great rescuer, take me away.”


End file.
